FOR THE RECORD: Congressional statements on the Famine-Genocide (11/25/01)

FOR THE RECORD: Congressional statements on the Famine-Genocide

Following are excerpts of statements on Ukraine's Great Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933. The statements were delivered in the U.S. Congress on the dates indicated. Please note: also delivering statements on the Famine were Rep. Christopher Smith of New Jersey, whose comments also covered the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group (the statement appears on page 6) and Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, whose statement in the House of Representatives was similar to the letter to the editor of The Ukrainian Weekly (see page 7). The full texts of statements excerpted here were provided to The Weekly by the Ukrainian National Information Service.

Rep. Michael R. McNulty of New York, November 8:

Mr. Speaker, I condemn the horrible injustice that befell the Ukrainian people 68 years ago. Approximately 7 million Ukrainians fell victim to the famine inflicted by the Soviet government to extinguish the Ukrainian struggle for freedom. The 1932-1933 famine was a premeditated effort to exterminate the national consciousness of the Ukrainian peasantry in order to stop their continuous resistance to Leninist/Stalinist ideals.

The causes of the famine had nothing to do with the harvest. Production of grain during those years remained at the usual levels. The government confiscated the grain in order to export it to gain money for industrialization in the former Soviet Union. Such was Stalin's undeclared war against the Ukrainians' right to independence and freedom.

The Ukrainian people have been fighting for their independence since the 16th century. With the arrival of the Marxist/Leninist ideas at the end of World War I, their struggle continued and intensified because of the farm collectivization efforts. Stalin's government could not frighten or punish Ukrainians enough to make them give up their land and desert their ideal of freedom and nation-statehood. Instead, his government made a decision to exterminate the sense of nation among the Ukrainian people and as a result, Stalin's government murdered a large portion of the population. Almost a quarter of all Ukrainians died in those dreadful years.

These abhorrent events were hidden from the public for the duration of the Soviet rule. Now it is our duty to bring them to the attention of the world in order to remind us all of the benefits of democracy and horrors that an oppressive government can perpetrate on its people. At this time of war, when the United States and the world battle terrorism, we once again were reminded that it is impossible for us to tolerate any oppressive regime.

Rep. Sander M. Levin of Michigan, November 8:

... It is too little known that 68 years ago leaders of the former Soviet Union deliberately employed the ruthless policies of forced collectivization and grain seizures to suppress and politically neutralize the Ukrainian people. The Soviets hoped to crush the nationalist spirit of Ukraine and replace it with a politically homogeneous Russian realm.

Historians have named this the "Harvest of Sorrow." Harvests in the early 1930s yielded solid crops, but the Soviets imposed such harsh levies on the crops that villages were often left with nothing. The situation worsened when border checkpoints were established to prevent starving Ukrainians from entering Russia, and to prevent any food from being brought into Ukraine.

More than 7 million people were cruelly starved to death because of these repressive measures. Survivors spoke of eating weeds and the bark of trees to survive and of Red Army soldiers confiscating food and livestock from the people. Eyewitnesses reported the depopulation of entire villages.

Even today the Ukrainian population has not yet fully recovered. For decades after these events, the deaths were covered up and this man-made atrocity denied by the government of the former Soviet Union. Today we remember. ...

We must remember and do everything we can to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, November 6:

...Ukraine, always known as the breadbasket of Europe, lost nearly a quarter of its population as the Stalinist-led government, headquartered in Moscow then, forcibly exported Ukraine's wheat and spent the money earned on industrialization.

... Only God knows the true count of the millions of Ukrainian peasants and village dwellers who were systematically starved to death as collectivization of the countryside made independent farming impossible.

... Inside the borders of the Soviet Union, over 50 million people ultimately perished through the end of the second world war, beginning with upwards of 8 million innocent people who died during forced famine of the early 1930s. The totalitarian regime of Joseph Stalin understood the power of food as the most fundamental weapon and used it cruelly.

... For several centuries, Ukraine then fought for its freedom. When forced to join the U.S.S.R. in the 20th century, Ukrainians resisted with valor. The forests of Western Ukraine are filled with the bones of their sacrifice. Every family suffered permanent losses. Yet no threats or punishments could deter Ukraine from its constant attempts to leave the Soviet Union and restore its independence.

... Fearing for the integrity of its empire, the Soviet regime then decided to simply eliminate Ukrainian culture by destroying the intellectual and military elite that pursued ideals of freedom and liberty. The regime falsified history and finally starved millions upon millions into submission.

... Genocide of this magnitude is unparalleled in human history. It is almost impossible to comprehend a political system that would contemplate and plan the deaths of millions of its citizens. These deaths of men, women, children and elderly were executed in the most tortuous ways imaginable. ...

History shows even in the face of such brutality, Ukrainians did not retreat. They continued to fight for freedom. Deep in their souls their spirits remained unbent and steadfast. ...

Many of my own ancestors died miserably inside what is now Ukraine during the 1930s. Our family well knows that this horror occurred.

We, history, must never forget that such profound events happened. We must remember. We must prevent such evil from happening again. We must also recognize that such hatred can be perpetrated only when freedom does not reign in a land. ...

We must resist anyone who attempts to take it from us. We must help those in the world who have gained their democratic freedoms to keep them alive and nurture them into maturity. We must not rest until such seemingly simple gifts as a right to life and the right to pursue happiness are guaranteed for every person in the world.

Democratic freedoms must prevail more now than ever. Recent events make us more aware of precious endowments of our known nationhood. Now we have an additional reason to continue our work for democratization and the defense of human rights. The memory of those who died defenselessly in this struggle so long ago deserve to be honored. ...

In furtherance of this remembrance, I would strongly encourage the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, and the U.S.-Ukraine Joint Cultural Heritage Commission, each funded annually by the Congress of the United States on behalf of the people of the United States, to accurately reflect the great famine in their historical documentations, including cemeteries, massacre sites and other hallowed grounds in Ukraine. ...

Rep. Steve Horn of California, November 6:

... Although almost a quarter of the Ukrainian population died in those two years, 1932 and 1933, their tragedy remained unknown to the rest of the world for almost 60 years.

Joseph Stalin's collectivization policy to finance Soviet industrialization had a disastrous effect ... Without regard for the negative consequences of this policy, Stalin raised Ukraine's grain quotas by 44 percent. Because Soviet law required that the government's grain quota be filled before no other food distribution, peasants were effectively starved to death. Stalin enforced this law absolutely mercilessly. Those who refused to give up their grain were executed or deported. The death toll from the famine is estimated to be 6 million to 7 million people. That is quite a bit when Stalin, the dictator, had killed about 25 million in his own country.

Yet, despite this atrocity, Ukrainians still struggled to restore their independence and freedom. There is no doubt that when Ukraine declared its independence on August 24, 1991, it vindicated the deaths of so many Ukrainians during the famine.

Madam Speaker, during the difficult time in our own country, it is important to recognize the courage of other peoples and other generations in the long struggle for freedom. It is equally important that we build on this example by teaching compassion to our young people and reinforcing our resolve to prevail over evil. ...

Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey of New York, November 6:

Mr. Speaker, today, November 6, 2001, we remember one of the most horrific events the world has ever seen: the induced famine that was forced on the Ukrainian people by the Soviet government between 1932 and 1933. Ukrainians live all over the world now, but their homeland was under a non-conventional attack whose purpose was to eliminate the Ukrainian nation from existence. Seven million people were killed through starvation, while a surplus of grain sat in warehouses. Despite the magnitude of this crisis, the Ukrainian Famine remains largely unknown outside the Ukrainian community. The truth has been hidden from us for far too long and now it must be brought to light. ...

A reporter from the Manchester Guardian managed to slip inside the famine area and described it as, "A scene of unimaginable suffering and starvation." He witnessed the terror and suffering that the people endured and attempted to show it to the world. Until 1986, the Soviet government did not admit to the man-induced famine. For two years people starved to death and the survivors were forced to eat rodents, eat the leather from shoes; in extreme cases they were forced to eat the dead.

The 7 million deaths over two years was the highest rate of death caused by any single event, including any war that the Ukrainian people have ever fought. There is no precedent for such a hideous act in recorded history. ...

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